Written by former Senate education staffer and journalist Alexander Russo, This Week in Education covers education news, policymakers, and trends with a distinctly political edge. (For archives prior to January 2007, please click here. For posts after November 2007, please click here.) Comments on this blog are now closed.

By Alexander Russo February 23, 2007 at 10:07 AM

Join the campaign to get rid of biweekly emails (so 90's) and maybe even win $35 by entering the Ed Sector's online survey about, among other things, what to do with the their "digest" (Education Sector Needs Your Feedback!). The Sectorans are also contemplating event webcasts (a good idea) and webchats like on EdWeek (sure, why not). Of course, what I really want from the Sector in its second year is to have its abundant commentary and analysis better balanced with its relatively slender list of research and reports.But that's probably just me....

By Alexander Russo February 23, 2007 at 9:57 AM

Last week, I was complaining (as usual), and the topic was the lack of "big" ideas in education, along the lines of a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing everyone an decent education (see here). This week, I read about a new book (School Money Trials) on how adequacy lawsuits based on state constitutions have fared. Check it out....

By Alexander Russo February 23, 2007 at 9:45 AM

Even with the NAEP scores out, it doesn't seem like it's been much of a week. Maybe it was the holiday-shortened week, or the fact that many folks seem to be heading off on vacation (or wishing it were so). Still, there's always the PEN NewsBlast, including topics like high stakes testing, the relevance of progressive education, new ideas for education reform, and more. And the Fordham Gadfly, which includes bits on whole language, the podcast, private schools for the poor, and something from Checker I couldn't quite follow....

By Margaret Paynich February 23, 2007 at 8:01 AM

Grades Rise, but Reading Skills Do Not NYT, WaPo, LAT, Wash. Times, CNN.com High school students nationwide are taking seemingly tougher courses and earning better grades, but their reading skills are not improving through the effort, according to two federal reports released here Thursday that cite grade inflation as a possible explanation. PTA's Go Way Beyond Cookies NYT The transformation of Livingston’s pizza lunch reflects how parent groups across the country, especially in affluent suburbs, are undergoing a kind of corporate makeover, combining members’ business savvy, technological prowess and negotiating skills to professionalize operations. More 'reliable' Wikipedia soon ...

By Alexander Russo February 22, 2007 at 6:05 PM

In case you hadn't seen it, this post from The Quick & The Ed (here)points out how the WSJ turns an education-related anecdote into a trend story -- and how quickly the anecdote gets picked up and used in the public debate as a truism. What isn't noted is that this isn't the first time that this reporter (Suein Hwang) has written a story whose main premise has seemed to some to be more controversial than well-documented. Just over a year ago, it was a front page story called "The New White Flight," about how schools in Silicon Valley were ...